Privacy Policy
Overview
This Privacy Policy explains how Hivewire ("Hivewire," "we," "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you use the Hivewire precision apiary monitoring platform — our website, the web app, the Hivewire mobile applications for iOS and Android, sensors, and related hardware and services (the "Service"). By using the Service you agree to the practices described here.
SMS alert notifications are governed by our separate SMS Terms & Privacy notice.
Information We Collect
- Account information — your name, email address, and a securely hashed password when you create an account.
- Contact submissions — the name, email, and message you send through our early-access or contact forms. If you report an accessibility barrier, we use your name, email address and what you tell us to reply and to fix the problem. We keep the report, including after it is resolved, as part of our accessibility compliance record. A report sent while you are signed in is linked to your account. We also keep the page you came from (a page address on our site, with no personal data) with the report.
- Apiary & hive data — the hives, apiaries, equipment, and inspection records you create, and the sensor readings your devices report (temperature, humidity, weight, acoustics, battery, and similar telemetry).
- Device & location data — hub and gateway identifiers and, where you provide it or a device reports it, the GPS location of your apiaries so your data maps correctly.
- Usage & technical data — basic log and analytics data (pages viewed, approximate region, browser type) collected to keep the Service secure and improve it.
We do not intentionally collect sensitive personal information, and we ask that you not submit it through free-text fields.
How We Use Your Information
- Operate the Service — display your dashboards, run your alert rules, and deliver notifications.
- Power the AI colony advisor using your hives' sensor and inspection data to answer your questions.
- Provide support and respond to your requests.
- Maintain security, prevent abuse, and diagnose problems.
- Improve and develop the Service, including training the models that power its monitoring and advisory features on the photos and records you check.
How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as needed to run the Service:
- Service providers that operate on our behalf — cloud hosting, SMS delivery (Twilio), transactional email, AI processing, and abuse prevention (Google reCAPTCHA) — under agreements that limit their use of your data to providing those services.
- Legal reasons — when required by law or to protect the rights, safety, and property of Hivewire and its users.
- Business transfers — if Hivewire is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your information may transfer as part of that transaction.
- With your direction — for example, when you share an apiary with another Hivewire user you choose.
Data Retention & Security
We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. Accessibility reports are kept with our accessibility compliance record. We protect it with encryption in transit, hashed passwords, access controls, and regular backups. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to safeguard your data and to notify you as required if a breach affecting it occurs.
Your Choices & Rights
- Access & update — view and edit your account details in Settings.
- Delete — request deletion of your account and associated data by emailing us.
- SMS — opt out any time by replying STOP or removing your number in Settings (see the SMS notice).
- Marketing — we do not send promotional SMS, and any product emails include an unsubscribe option.
To exercise any of these, contact support@hivewire.us.
Cookies & Analytics
We use a first-party session cookie to keep you signed in, and a first-party hw_consent cookie that only remembers your cookie choice; both are strictly necessary and set no tracking. We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate usage only if you accept it in the cookie banner — until you do, no Google Analytics script or cookie loads, and you can change your answer any time via Cookie settings. Google reCAPTCHA protects our contact form from abuse and loads only when you use that form; their use of data is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
Children's Privacy
The Service is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as the Service evolves. We will revise the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised policy.
Contact Us
Questions about this policy or your data? Email support@hivewire.us.